SURVEY: More Herkimer County students feeling safe

A recent Herkimer County Teen Assessment Project Survey Report, given about two weeks after the Herkimer shooting that left four dead and two wounded, shows contrasting results about how students feel about their safety.

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Uticaod

Posted Dec. 13, 2013 at 4:00 AM

Posted Dec. 13, 2013 at 4:00 AM

BY THE NUMBERS

Percentage of students who missed school as a result of feeling unsafe either at school or on the way to and from school:

2001: 16 percent

2005: ...

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BY THE NUMBERS

Percentage of students who missed school as a result of feeling unsafe either at school or on the way to and from school:

2001: 16 percent

2005: 14 percent

2009: 8 percent

2013: 14 percent

Percentage of students who report feeling safe at school:

2001: 70 percent

2005: 74 percent

2009: 76 percent

2013: 80 percent

Source: Herkimer County Teens Assessment Project Survey Report

When Kurt Myers opened fire in a barbershop in Mohawk and then at an auto mechanic shop in Herkimer, it shook the entire community — including students in Herkimer County schools.

A recent Herkimer County Teen Assessment Project Survey Report, given about two weeks after the shooting that left four dead and two wounded, shows contrasting results about how students feel about their safety:

ä The percentage of students who missed school as a result of feeling unsafe at school, or on the way to and from school, nearly doubled from 8 percent in 2009 to 14 percent in 2013.

ä A greater percent of teens in 2013, however, feel safe at school. The percentage has been climbing since 2001, from 70 percent to 80 percent in 2013.

The numbers had been on a steady decline prior to the shooting incident, which the survey points to as the reason for the jump in those missing school.

"Certainly, there is heightened public awareness when these incidents occur throughout the country in large part due to the media coverage and the accessibility of the social media," said Edward Schmidt, coordinator for the Oneida County School Resource Officer Coalition.

Local events as well as nationwide tragedies such as the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut a year ago, have served to push school districts to maintain and do more to ensure the safety of their children.

"I think (the results) speak volumes to what the schools have had in place," said Cuyle Rockwell, communications officer for the Central Valley Central School District — the result of a merger between Mohawk and Ilion school districts. "You can never be prepared for this, but you can have tools in place to address this."

Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES Superintendent Howard Mettelman said that school safety is of the utmost priority and discussions always are ongoing as are workshops.

"We're continuing to make sure that we're ready for these and other emergencies in schools," he said.

Despite the shooting that occurred a block from the then-Mohawk high school, Ilion resident Ramona Gassmann said her 16-year-old daughter Carly felt safe enough to return to school the next day.

"She felt safe, and I felt safe letting her go back," she said. "They really did a good job getting the police out there and protecting the school right away."

Many districts already have programs and policies in place to address issues that might arise, such as the shootings earlier this year.

Gassmann said at the time of the incident she was concerned but knew the school district had the right procedures in place to protect her daughter.

"I felt comforted knowing that they did have the security system where they informed parents about the incident, and how they had a lockdown," she said.

Page 2 of 2 - One of the key ingredients to security at schools, officials say, is the signal entry system.

"Every school district should be utilizing the single point of entry with access control," Schmidt said. "That's pretty basic."

Robert Miller, superintendent of the Herkimer Central School District, said his district implemented the single-point access to the junior-senior high school this year.

"Last year, the elementary had single point access," he said. "Essentially, we're building a community that is supportive of students and promotes a safe environment and attitude."

Beyond the general procedures, many school districts are considering, or have hired, school resource officers to provide added security.

"We've considered a school resource officer," Herkimer school district superintendent said. "We haven't implemented that yet."

Central Valley's school board also has had discussions.

"The mere presence of a uniformed police officer is a tremendous deterrent," Schmidt said. "What can be of higher priority than the safety of children, which are our future, and the people who work with our children?"